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Phillies rest Bryce Harper, finish off sad-sack Tigers before looking forward to big series with Braves

Phillies pitchers didn't allow a run in the final 18 innings of the series in Detroit.

J.T. Realmuto celebrates his solo home run on Wednesday.
J.T. Realmuto celebrates his solo home run on Wednesday.Read morePaul Sancya / AP

DETROIT -- It took the Phillies 15 innings on Tuesday night to accomplish something for which they didn’t even need Bryce Harper on Wednesday afternoon.

Never try to figure out baseball.

Less than 13 hours after outlasting the Detroit Tigers in the marathon opener of a two-game interleague series, the Phillies finished off the worst team in baseball with a no-frills, low-stress, 4-0 victory at Comerica Park. And, as they headed home and into a day off Thursday, their keynote for the beginning of a pivotal nine-game home stand was simple.

Bring on the Braves.

“We’re rolling,” catcher Andrew Knapp said after the Phillies won for the fifth time in six games. “We’re pretty confident in the way we’re playing right now. Especially to win these two series on the road [in Detroit and Pittsburgh] going into a big series against Atlanta, it’s huge. It’s definitely a big series coming up.”

The Phillies are a half-game out of the second National League wild-card spot, behind the St. Louis Cardinals. And although the wild card still represents the likeliest path to their first postseason berth since 2011, if the Phillies should sweep this three-game series at Citizens Bank Park and chop the Braves’ 5 1/2-game lead, it could get interesting.

Heck, it might even inspire general manager Matt Klentak to be more aggressive before the trade deadline next Wednesday.

"I think we're getting plenty of support from the front office," manager Gabe Kapler said. "We're very collaborative, talking all the time, and I think that this showing on the road is reason to be optimistic. I think if we play well against the Braves, which we expect to do, that will provide more optimism."

In preparation for that big series, Harper took a seat on the bench for the finale against the Tigers. After he served as the designated hitter Tuesday night, it represented one of the last times for the superstar right fielder to catch his breath before the stretch drive, which will feature 60 games in 66 days.

Kapler also took the opportunity to give Rhys Hoskins partial rest by using him as the designated hitter. And after taxing his body by catching 15 innings, J.T. Realmuto moved to first base for one game.

It felt like a “double-win” to emerge victorious despite the unusual lineup, Kapler said. And the Phillies had more than enough to take care of the Tigers, who have dropped 47 of 59 games since May 12 and are on pace for 111 losses. Phillies pitchers held the Tigers to two runs in 24 innings and shut them out for the final 18 innings of the series.

The Phillies also didn’t allow a home run in 52 innings over the last five games. The Pirates and Tigers have hit the fourth- and second-fewest homers in the majors, respectively, but for a Phillies pitching staff that has been taken deep more often than any in the National League, it represented progress.

"That's something that we really struggled with and put a ton of effort and research into calming down," Kapler said. "I thought we've done a good job in recent days on that front."

In particular, the bullpen was strong. After Adam Morgan, Nick Pivetta, Hector Neris, Juan Nicasio, and Jose Alvarez passed the baton for eight scoreless innings on Tuesday night, Ranger Suarez, Morgan, and Neris did the same for 3 1/3 innings in relief of starter Vince Velasquez on Wednesday.

The Phillies staked Velasquez to a lead on Realmuto’s solo home run in the fourth inning. They tacked on three runs in the fifth on a solo shot by Nick Williams, followed by a bunt single by Roman Quinn, an RBI double by Cesar Hernandez, a walk to Scott Kingery, and a Hoskins single.

Velasquez left the bases loaded in the second inning and stranded Brandon Dixon on second base after a leadoff single in the fourth. He appeared poised to complete the sixth inning for only the second time in 12 starts this season, but he ran into trouble with two outs and had to be lifted for Suarez.

But Velasquez’s spot in the rotation is a topic for another day, perhaps even a day before the trade deadline. The Phillies were unable to leave Detroit with coveted Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd in tow, but it seems likely they will check back on his availability and the asking price over the next few days.

In the meantime, they were content to pocket their two wins and skip town, ready to focus on the Braves.

“I would say that’s exactly what we’re focused on,” Velasquez said. “We know what we’re going up against. It’s a good lineup. Those guys are red-hot, and we’re red-hot. Five out of six, I think that’s pretty good. I think what we’re focused on is, keep doing what we’ve been doing, and keep capitalizing on what we’re doing, and keep improving.”